The Assistant (20 page)

“Answer me,” he said before delivering a
hard slap to my ass.  I squealed and clenched around him, feeling a small
thread of satisfaction when Aiden groaned and made two hard and uncontrollable
thrusts into me.

“Ohhh,” I moaned happily and a small grin
crossed his face before he gave me another stern look.

“Are you going to behave, Lina?  Is my little
kitten going to keep her claws to herself?”

“Yes,” I snapped. 

“Good girl,” he said and I both loved and
hated my flush of happiness at pleasing him.

He released my wrists and I clutched at his
biceps, trying not to dig my nails into his arms.

“Please, Aiden,” I said sweetly.  “Please
put your fingers in me again.”

“You don’t like my cock?”  He asked before
sliding back and forth in an easy rhythm.

“You know I do,” I moaned.  “But before –
it was – oh, please, Aiden.”

“God, what you fucking do to me, Lina,” he
suddenly whispered before straightening to his knees.  He took my legs and I
muttered a harsh cry of surprise when he lifted them and draped them over his
shoulders.  I could feel the strain in my thigh muscles and my insecurities
were starting to crowd into my head.  I wasn’t flexible or coordinated enough
for this and already my thighs were starting to hurt.  Before I could slide my
legs down, Aiden was gripping my ass and lifting, supporting most of my lower
body weight.  The strain on my thighs eased and my legs slid further over his
shoulders.

“Okay?”  He asked and I nodded but gave him
an anxious look.

The guy was going to hurt himself holding
me up like that, and I could only imagine what I looked like in this position
with my belly pushed out and my large thighs resting against his chest.

“Am I – am I hurting you?” I gasped out as
he repositioned me slightly.

“No,” he said firmly.  “Hang on tight,
princess.”

“Hang on to what?”  I said.  “Aiden, what
are you going to – “

The thought was lost when Aiden thrust into
me and the head of his cock rubbed firmly against my previously believed
mythical g-spot.  I screamed, my hands clutching at the sheets, as my entire
body shuddered against him.

“Hmm, hit it on the first try.  Not bad,”
Aiden said as I gaped at him.

He winked at me.  “Did you like that,
kitten?”

“Do it again,” I begged.  “Again, Aiden. 
Again.”

“My pleasure, princess,” he said.

My back arched, my toes curling as he
thrust back and forth and wave after wave of indescribable pleasure coursed
through me.  I moaned and screamed and pleaded, my hands yanking at the bed
sheets as Aiden continued his relentless pace.  My head was thrashing back and
forth and I screamed his name as the pleasure crested inside of me and burst. 
My eyes rolled back in my head and I was only dimly aware of Aiden’s warm seed
filling my pussy.  Aiden released my ass and I collapsed against the bed.  He
caught my legs as they slid from his shoulders and placed them gently on the
bed before lying next to me.  I was panting and shuddering uncontrollably and
he stroked my stomach and my thighs and pressed kisses against my damp
forehead.

After a while, a long while, I opened my
eyes and stared up at him.  He kissed me, I could still taste vanilla on his
mouth, and rested his forehead against mine.

“Holy shit, Aiden,” I whispered weakly. 
“Holy shit.”

“My thoughts exactly,” he replied before
pulling me into his embrace.  I rested my head against his chest, listening as
the beat of his heart slowed to a steady rhythm, and closed my eyes again.

“Aiden?”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry for calling you an asshole and a
bastard and threatening to knee you in the balls.”

He laughed and hugged me tightly.  “I
know.  Go to sleep, Lina.”

“You’re sure you’re ready for this?”  Aiden
asked as we parked in the parking lot of the animal shelter.

“I am,” I said.  “Besides, I’m just going
to look today.  It’s not really practical to adopt a dog before I return from
Kate’s.”

King stuck his head over the seat and
licked my hair before slobbering across my cheek.

“King,” I scolded him and pushed him back a
little.  “Stop drooling on me.”

He woofed and laid his massive body across
the back seat as we climbed out of the SUV.

“Is it too cold for him?”  I asked as we
crossed the parking lot.

“No,” Aiden said.  “He’ll be fine.”

He opened the door and I took a deep breath
before stepping into the shelter.  The door to the dog kennels was to the left
and I stared at it as Aiden took my hand and squeezed it lightly.

“Ready?”  He asked again.

I nodded and even though I knew I should be
dropping his hand I couldn’t bring myself to do it.  Holding hands, we walked
into the kennel.

* * *

I stared at the dog sitting quietly at the
back of the kennel.  We had spent the last fifteen minutes slowly walking
through the maze of kennels and Aiden had wandered ahead.  He was petting a
very loud and very enthusiastic poodle through the bars of a kennel and I
smiled briefly before staring again at the dog.

She was light gray with a big, blocky head
and a white muzzle.  I glanced at her information sheet before crouching and
making a kissing noise.  “Daisy, come here, girl.  Come here, Daisy.”

She cocked her head at me and I made
another kissy noise, secretly delighted when her tail wagged a little and she
stood from the blanket she was sitting on.  She stretched before walking
stiffly toward me.  She rested her nose against the bars that separated us and
I stuck my fingers between the bars and scratched the side of her head.

She sighed and leaned against my fingers,
trapping them between the bars and her head.  I winced and tried to pull my
fingers free as a voice said above me, “Do you like her?  She’s a very sweet
girl.”

I smiled at the woman wearing the bright
green shirt of the volunteers as she crouched next to me.

“She seems lovely.”

“Oh, she is.  She’s such a sweetheart. 
Very gentle and kind,” the woman said quickly.  “She would make a great
companion.”

“Why is she in here?”  I asked.

“Her family was moving out of state and
they didn’t want to take her.”

“Because she’s old?”  I asked.

The volunteer cleared her throat quickly. 
“Well, she is considered a senior but don’t let her age fool you.  She’s still
got plenty of spirit left in her.”

Aiden crouched beside me and studied the
dog.  “She’s cute.”

“Her name is Daisy,” I said.

“Hello, Daisy.”  He stuck his fingers
between the bars and Daisy sniffed at them before turning her warm brown eyes
to me again.

“How old is she?”  Aiden asked.

“She’s eleven but again, she’s in
reasonably good health for her age and it’s always been my opinion that an
older dog is a much better pet than a puppy.”

There was an odd note of desperation in the
volunteer’s voice and Aiden frowned at me.  I shrugged a little as the
volunteer said, “Would you like to go into the kennel and pet her?”

“Sure,” I said.

We stood and the volunteer opened the
kennel and the three of us slipped inside.  Daisy’s tail wagged and she brushed
up against me before sitting politely.  I crouched again and rubbed her side. 
Her tail wagged harder and she leaned her stocky body against mine.  I would
have fallen over if Aiden hadn’t steadied me before crouching next to us.

“She’s a sweet little thing,” he said.

“Yes, but she’s eleven,” I pointed out. 
“I’m not sure I want a senior dog again.  I wouldn’t have many years with her.”

“Pit Bulls can live to be fifteen,” the
volunteer said brightly.  “I have a friend who has a pitty who is almost
seventeen.”

She scratched around Daisy’s ears and the
dog panted happily at her.  “She really is very lovely.  You won’t have any
behaviour issues with her.”

“I like her,” Aiden said.  He scratched
Daisy’s rump and she made a harrumph of pleasure before standing and sitting next
to him.  He stroked her head and grinned at me.

“I’m only supposed to be looking today,” I
reminded him.  “I’m leaving Thursday for the weekend, remember?”

“I’ll look after her,” he said.  “I don’t
mind.”

He glanced at the volunteer.  “Does she get
along well with other dogs?”

“Oh, you have another dog?”  The volunteer
said.

“No,” I said, “I don’t have – “

“Yes,” Aiden interrupted me.  “We have a
one-year-old English Mastiff.  He’s good with other dogs.”

“Well, you can bring your dog to the
shelter and do a meet and greet with Daisy,” the woman said.  “That’s no
problem.”

“He’s in our car.  Could we have them meet
today?”  He asked.

She nodded.  “Absolutely.  In fact, I was
going to suggest bringing him today.”

“Aiden,” I said, “She’s a senior dog and with
that comes – “

“There’s a red tag on the front of her
kennel.  What does that mean?”  Aiden asked abruptly.

The woman’s smile slipped a little.  “She’s
scheduled to be put down tomorrow.”

My heart dropped and I stared wide-eyed at
Aiden as he frowned at the woman.  “Why?”

“Not because she’s a bad dog,” the woman
said hastily.  “She really isn’t.  It’s just, well, she’s a Pit Bull and she’s
older and she’s been here for a while.”

I stared into Daisy’s warm brown eyes as
the volunteer continued, “The stigma about Pit Bulls being dangerous isn’t
true.  They’re actually very loving and friendly dogs with people and other
animals.  Daisy doesn’t have a mean bone in her body.  It’s such a shame that
she’s been looked over because of her breed and her age.  I could give you
plenty of website links that give you information on what the breed is actually
like.  Why don’t I – “

“That won’t be necessary,” I interrupted
and the woman sighed in resignation before patting Daisy’s head.

“Can you get King from the car?”  I asked
Aiden.

He grinned delightedly and helped me stand
as the volunteer clapped her hands.  For one brief moment I thought she was
going to hug me and I smiled at her as she settled for patting my arm
awkwardly. 

“We’ll take Daisy into meeting room three,”
she said.  “Just tell the volunteer at the front what room and she’ll bring you
there with your dog, okay?”

Aiden nodded and gave me a quick kiss
before leaving.  The volunteer slipped a lead around Daisy’s thick neck and we
walked slowly down the hall.

* * *

“Aiden, you bought too much stuff.”

“I didn’t buy too much stuff.”

“You did,” I laughed.  “I need to pay you
for it.”

“Nope, consider it a welcome home gift to
Daisy.”

I smiled and stared at the large pile of
treats and toys piled on the top of my kitchen table.  Daisy, a new bright pink
collar around her neck, was sniffing the room curiously.  King, his tongue
lolling, was following closely behind and there was no mistaking the look of
adoration he was giving her.  When she stopped to investigate Rex’s empty food
dish, King licked at her face enthusiastically.

“King,” Aiden sighed, “try and make her
work for it a little, would you?”

I laughed as Daisy wandered out of the
kitchen and down the hallway, King at her heels.  “At least he likes her.  Maybe
they could have play dates every once in a while.”

Aiden kissed my forehead.  “It’s almost
dinner.  Do you want to go out and eat or stay in?”

“Probably better if we stay in,” I said. 
“I’m not sure King and Daisy are ready to be on their own together yet.”

He nodded and opened the fridge before rummaging
through it.  God, it was getting way too easy to think of this as a
relationship.  He was making it easy and I had to work hard to tamp down the
thread of hope that was building inside of me.

Aiden doesn’t do relationships.  Don’t
ever forget that.

“Aiden, after dinner I think it’s probably
best if you – “

“After dinner,” he said as he pulled out a
bag of salad.  “I’m going to take you to bed and fuck your brains out, Lina.”

I laughed.  “I hate to tell you this, but
that happened last night.  In fact, I’m not entirely sure I’ve fully
recovered.”

He set the salad on the counter.  “I’ll go
easy on you tonight.  Maybe just regular orgasms instead of g-spot orgasms.”

“How kind of you,” I said.  “What do you
think of teriyaki chicken for dinner?”

“Sounds good,” he replied.  “I’m going to
go check on the lovebirds.”

He left the kitchen and I took out the
chicken and popped it into the microwave to defrost.  Faintly, I could hear
Aiden talking to the dogs and I closed my eyes and rubbed briefly at my
forehead.

You’re playing a dangerous game, Lina.

Yeah, tell me something I don’t know.

* * *

“Lina?”

“Yeah?” 

I curled into Aiden’s warm embrace.  I was
sleepy after my orgasms and ready to go to sleep but Aiden sounded wide awake. 
I had meant to ask him to leave after sex but damn if it didn’t feel good to be
in his arms.  Besides, it was dark and cold and snowing.  It would be downright
rude of me to ask him to leave after he had fucked me into my current stupor.

“I was thinking maybe I would go with you
to your sister’s this weekend.”

I sat up in a hurry, my sleepiness gone in
an instant, and stared blankly at him.  “What?”

He grinned at me.  “It would be nice to
have a weekend away.”

“Aiden, I…”

I trailed off and stared at Daisy and
King.  The two of them were crammed on to Rex’s old bed and King had his head
resting on Daisy’s hip.  The both of them were snoring loudly and as Aiden sat
up and took my hand, I realized I was utterly and completely furious with him.

“We can take the dogs to Joe’s and
Steph’s.  They wouldn’t mind looking after them for the weekend,” he said.  “We
could – “

“What are you doing?”  I interrupted.

“What do you mean?”

“You were very clear that you didn’t do
relationships, that this was a fuck buddy thing only, and now you want to go to
my sister’s with me?”

A scowl crossed his face.  “I’ve taken fuck
buddies on weekend getaways before, Lina.  It doesn’t mean we’re in a
relationship.”

“This isn’t a weekend getaway, Aiden,” I
snapped.  “This is going to meet my goddamn family.  Is this some sort of game
to you?  Is that it?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” 
He said.  “Suddenly I’m a bad guy for wanting to spend time with you?”

“No, you’re a bad guy for making me think
that this is more than just sex,” I said.  “You’re fixing things in my house,
you’re bringing me dinner and watching movies with me, you’re spending the
weekend and you’re picking out a goddamn dog with me.  What the hell, Aiden? 
We had a very clear agreement on what this was and I don’t appreciate you
changing the rules now.  And if this is some sick little game for you – that’s
just fucked-up.  You’ve told me repeatedly that you don’t do relationships. 
Have you forgotten that?”

“You’re right,” he said abruptly.  He
climbed out of the bed and began to dress.  “I apologize, Lina.  I’m acting
inappropriately and it won’t happen again.”

I was still furious and I glared at him as
he buttoned his shirt.  “You need to make a decision, Aiden.  Are we in a
relationship or am I just one more notch in your bedpost?”

He stiffened, his hands clenching into
fists, and stared at the floor.  “We’re not in a relationship.”

“Then stop being so goddamn nice to me!”  I
shouted stupidly.

“No problem,” he snapped.  He whistled for
King and the dog raised his head and made a snort of displeasure. 

“King, now,” he snapped again and with a
weary sigh, King heaved his body up and lumbered to Aiden.

“Good night, Ms. Jones,” he said icily.

“Good night, Mr. Wright,” I replied.

He left the bedroom with King, shutting the
door hard behind him and I collapsed on the bed and stared silently at the
ceiling.  I kept it together until I heard the front door slam and then burst
into tears.

* * *

“Lina, honey, don’t take this the wrong way
but you look like shit,” Amanda said solemnly.